Delays continue in the building of the new Indiana State Archives and several other projects to celebrate the state's bicentennial. The legislature included these projects in the budget that was passed during the 2015 session, but the major funding source - the leasing of the state's cell phone towers - has not occurred as promised.
PLEASE SHARE: The Indiana State Archives may not get their new building after all, unless the Indiana legislature funds it in this year's budget. A new building is badly needed - it has leaked 5 times just since January 1st, including once in the vault that holds the 1816 constitution. Our blog post has more information, including which legislators to contact.
George Schneider served in the 16th US Infantry during the Civil War. During his golden years, he lived in the Indiana State Soldiers Home (now Indiana Veterans Home) in Lafayette before his death in 1898. J. C. Peltier, undertaker, wrote to Colonel J. P. McGrew, commandant of the home, to inform him that Allen County paid for the rest of Schneider's funeral expenses. A kind gesture for someone who served their country.
In the 1970s, as the Clark County Courthouse moved into the newly-built City County Building many historical records kept in the courthouse basement were not transferred to the new building.
When the courthouse was demolished the rubble and records were transported to a landfill near the Ohio River. It was soon discovered that many documents, including some from the early 1800s, had not arrived to their new home the Indiana State Library and Indiana Historical Society hoped to find and rescue the missing records.
A team of six descended on the landfill in July 1970 to begin hunting down the records. In the end, some records were salvaged, some lost forever, and others were too destroyed by the landfill to be useable.
We have exciting changes at the Indiana State Archives!
After years of hard work the new and expanded Digital Archives has a new home! Now called the Research Indiana Indexes, the site includes over 1.36 million names and entries.
Explore the Research Indiana Index February 14, 2022 on YouTube.
Learn about the new updates to the Research Indiana Index, formally known as the Indiana Digital Archives. Vicki Casteel of the Indiana State Archives and Records Administration will demonstrate the new search features and many new tables added to the Research Indiana Index. Volunteers have been working hard to increase accessibility to our collections, building new indexes to help you locate your Hoosier Ancestors. Presented by Vicki Casteel.
Vicki Casteel is the Director of Patron and Outreach Services at the Indiana State Archives, where she has worked as a reference archivist for nearly twenty-five years. She is also responsible for creating, managing, converting, and uploading the many databases used by volunteers to index collections and increase accessibility to records. She has a Masters in Archives and Records Administration from San Jose State University School of Information.
Naturalization records that have never been published online are now available on FamilySearch! Adams, Allen, and Blackford Counties have recently been added online and other county naturalizations will be added throughout the year.
Records can be quickly located when using FamilySearch and the Research Indiana Indexes together.
It was an honor to take part in the groundbreaking for the new Indiana Archives and Records Administration. This building will house priceless artifacts and documents that tell our #Hoosier story. In its new location, our state’s history will be more accessible for all #Hoosiers.
This morning, Gov. Holcomb, along with state officials and partners, broke ground on the future site of the Indiana State Archives building, set to be completed in 2025. The building will be located across from the Indiana State Library on Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis. Read more about the building here: https://tinyurl.com/msb3vx6h#Indiana#Archives#groundbreaking
This week staff in the SIML division received additional training on the use of the microfilm scanner and imaging software. Staff got tips on how to scan acetate films that are in the beginning stages of deterioration and advanced features for image enhancement for poorly filmed reels. We are excited to add this knowledge to the agency!
Hoosier history at risk! This archivist fights time to save Indiana's past.
A treasure trove of history: The State Archives. Look back on this clip from the Across Indiana achrives to explore how records were kept before the digital era was ushered in. Here, Beatles concert bills mingle with Civil War rolls and Charles Manson's prison file. But time and decay threaten these Hoosier relics. Archivist F. Gerald Handfield fights a valiant battle, preserving these documents before they crumble to dust.
Our Executive Director, Chandler Lighty, recently appeared as a guest on Hoosier History Live. Chandler discussed the new building and some landmark Indiana Supreme Court cases. Check out the podcast episode: November 18, 2023 State Archives podcast
On February 7, 1835, the Indiana General Assembly passed an act which created fourteen new counties: Adams, Wells, Jay, DeKalb, Steuben, Whitley, Kosciusko, Fulton, Marshall, Starke, Pulaski, Jasper, Newton, and Porter counties. [ highlighted counties are neighbors to Allen County ]
Happy Easter Sunday! Pictured are two vintage Easter postcards featuring spring motifs and Easter eggs. The first...
Happy Easter Sunday! Pictured are two vintage Easter postcards featuring spring motifs and Easter eggs. The first postcard is dated 1911. The second postcard is dated from 1914 and addressed to a Lulu Sweet of Toledo, Ohio.
The Genealogy division of the Indiana State Library boasts one of the largest collections of family history information in the Midwest. It includes over 40,000 printed items and focuses on materials from Indiana and bordering states.#Easter#Genealogy
Browse more Easter postcards and the digitized collection here: Easter Postcard
Images courtesy of the Mary Lou Kuhn Collection, Genealogy division of the Indiana State Library.
IARA's Records and Information Management Department is excited to announce that April is Records and Information...
IARA's Records and Information Management Department is excited to announce that April is Records and Information Management Month for the State of Indiana!
Records and Information Management Month (RIMM) is observed internationally for the month of April and celebrates responsible records and information management practice.
RIMM is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of information management and sharing educational resources on records and information management standards and best practice.
